Emerging Asia is leading global trade confidence, with domestic-oriented economies like India, Vietnam, Indonesia and China among the most optimistic.This is according to a global survey of small and mid-sized companies by banking giant HSBC. The lender says intra-regional trade is driving the current activity, and expects the trend to continue. Asia's booming recovery and domestic demand in the first quarter have made businesses more optimistic about their intra-regional trade prospects. On a global basis, HSBC's trade confidence index rose from 110 to 116 points in the last six months. A reading above 100 indicates a positive outlook Among the most confident in Asia were India (133), Vietnam (132), Indonesia (128), and China (120). Overall, emerging markets scored 122 points, versus developed countries at 106. Khuresh Faizullabhoy, head of trade and supply chain, HSBC, says: " We share the confidence we've seen from the respondents in the survey, we've seen volumes pick up across the … [Read more...] about HSBC: Vietnam leads global trade confidence

The reason for the decrease is because local export and import businesses feared a possible reduction in foreign exchange trading volume in the next six months and are more cautious about the targeted potential market. The survey showed that Asia is still the focused market of Vietnamese businesses with 58% of them trading with China, 38% with the rest of Asia, and 34% with Southeast Asia. 46% of Vietnamese export and import businesses believed that trade volume would rise slightly in the next six months, the survey indicated. According to the survey, the global Trade Confidence Index now stands stable at 116 points. Vietnam is still in the top five, losing the third position and stands behind India, UAE, Mexico and Indonesia. This is the second survey of HSBC in 2010 and the fourth survey since 2009. It was conducted in 17 markets, including the key markets in Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Latin America, the US, Canada, and Europe, with the participation of 5,124 small and medium … [Read more...] about Vietnam loses 10 points on HSBC Trade Confidence Index 2010

Vietnamese traders are slightly less confident in their business prospects for the next six months than they were toward the end of last year, according to the latest HSBC survey.
They attribute the dip in confidence to fluctuating exchange rates and high interest rates. … [Read more...] about Exchange rate fears dent trading confidence

The latest study showed Thai consumer confidence has strengthened to a 9-month high in June.
The University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) Rector, Saowanee Thairungroj, said that, in June, the consumer confidence index rose to the highest level in 9 months, at 78.6.
She stated that the higher index was brought on by easing political standoff and falling global oil prices.
Moreover, the overall economic confidence index improved from 62.8 in October 2011 to 68.5 in June this year.
The UTCC Rector noted that Thai consumers were still worried about the local political conflicts and the debt crisis in Europe, which could hurt Thai economic growth and exports.
In addition, the UTCC's Economic and Business Forecasting Centre has forecast that the export industry will expand about 8-9 percent this year, considerably lower than the Commerce Ministry's prediction of 15 percent.
Saowanee said that even though Thai exports to Europe make up only 10 percent of the whole year's … [Read more...] about Thailand: consumer confidence index hits 9-month high